My Day As An Emergency Room Volunteer

For as long as I could remember, I have seen my father rushing to the hospital in a white coat, answering pagers in the middle of important family conversations and attending night calls even in the most terrible weather. I had always wondered; what could be so important that it belittles every other responsibility in his life. It was only after many years of anguish and protests that it finally made sense to me. This defining moment of realization occurred when I first met a patient in his office. I saw how the gratitude in the patient’s eyes can provide a sense of fulfillment that triumphs all other feelings in the universe. It was human life that was most important. Being a doctor does not make you a mere healer but also gives you the responsibility of a caregiver. I had never felt more proud of my father and that was the day I felt the urge to relive this feeling many times over. It was there in that moment that I decided to pursue a career in medicine.

I stood with a look of wonderment as I watched the beehive of physicians, radiologists, nurses, and paramedics collaboratively save a man’s life. The scene initially appeared chaotic with scrubs flying around and doctors swarming all over, but in actuality the team was extremely single-minded—as if driven by instinct. I was amazed by the speed and conviction with which the attending doctor made his decisions; his training and experience was evident with every move. Seeing the tearful wife thank the doctor highlighted the impact of his work—his actions had saved a husband and a father. I left admiring both the competency of emergency physicians and their ability to touch lives in such a dramatic way. While my enjoyment of high school biology sparked my original inclination towards medicine, my first hand experiences in the hospital deepened my motivation and left me steadfast in my decision to become a doctor.

The experience I gained at the cardiology clinic and the hours shadowing at the Methodist Hospital emergency room are a pillar for the career of my choice. I want to be able to help those in need in my local community hospital. I feel the urge to give a hand to those that have guided me through the right path, from teaching me right from wrong to encouraging me to strive to be the best in life. At the Methodist hospital, I learned how to obtain patient’s medical history and entered data into Cerner, and I obtained consent from patients before procedures such as diagnostic imaging and casting. I observed physical examinations being performed by the physician assistant and it taught me that it is necessary to have knowledge to be able to diagnose and treat conditions and that interpersonal skills are essential for this career. Currently, I work for the department of health where I triage and register patients, assist physicians and nurse practitioner in the examination of patients, and assist with maintenance of inventory supplies and

Minutes have passed and to my surprise, after shocking the patient multiple times, we had return of spontaneous circulation. A sense of excitement, and relief, poured over me. From my past experiences, I assumed that there was a small probability that this man would live; however, that day I learned that every patient is different. As a Physician Assistant (PA) I want to consider the entire combination of factors that make each person unique, analyzing all aspects of their life – physically and emotionally. Ultimately, this experience motivated me to channel all of my energy towards pursuing a career as a PA.

It was June 12, 2016, one of the deadliest mass shootings at Orlando, FL. It wasn’t like any other day; after a tragic event I was called into work around 5:30am. I finally reached ORMC amidst of all the chaos, there wasn’t any pleasant welcome, every face mimicked a variety of emotions with some worried and sad, while others confused and suspicious. I was floated to the trauma unit to accommodate victims after surgery. I could sense the sturdy whiff of blood as I walked into the unit which I was not so familiar with. Even though my heart was aching by witnessing the sufferings of those innocent victims, I had a strong impulse to help and give my all. I took my assignment sheet and walked into my patient’s room. As he slowly opened his eyes, the nurse repeated the questions:

I was at Hamad General Hospital shadowing medical professionals of different specialties to get an overall idea of what the medical career was like, I was at ED (Emergency Department) when suddenly and with no previous warning “Cardiac Arrest !,” yelled the nurse, in moments emergency specialists were standing above the 16 year old male patient head sorting out CPR, AED etc..; first shock was delivered, the second and third followed, but the teenager didn’t even blink, he lay lifelessly, few more attempts and the white blanket was pulled over him; I couldn’t believe my eyes, I had witnessed an in-hospital death for the first time; trembling and shaking, I walked out of Bay-1, with a completely new meaning of medicine.

In September 2015, I had an opportunity to join the team of volunteers of the Inspira Medical Center in Woodbury. I joined the Emergency Department. My shifts were once a week for three to six hours. I had a chance to interact with patients, mostly to help ease their anxiety and fear. This experience was valuable because it allowed me not just to observe, but also to look at healthcare from the perspective of a patient. I realized that I did not have to be a licensed practitioner to understand patients’ concerns and fears. I also realized that any effort on my part to help ease such worries would go a long way towards helping the patient feel more secure in themselves and their

On September 28, when we went to Tripler Army Medical Center, I was placed in the Cardiac Ward. At that time, I was able to learn so many diagnosis dealing with the patients. The nurse had briefly explained what was going on with each individual patient and the type of treatments they are doing to help. She had also neatly clarified each medication she was giving them and told me exactly what it was used for. I was able to get an experience of hands on by taking a patient’s temperature. I had shadowed as she did so many things to make the patient feel comfortable and did everything to the best of her ability to make them happy. She had taught me how to record every piece of information about the patients on the computer by showing me what

As I walked toward the bright red sign that flashed emergency, I had no idea that I was about to witness the fragility of life. About a half an hour after my clinical shift began the rapid response alarm blared through the emergency room speakers. I was excited. In my previous shifts I had worked with the rapid response team. During rapid responses more extensive medical procedures are performed, and as a student I got to see and do a lot more. Once I reached the recess room, most of the team was already there preparing for the arrival of the patient. “It’s a STEMI” announced one of the nurses who was on the phone with firefighter’s that were bringing him in. After she announced this fright ran through my veins. I had never seen someone who

My journey toward achieving my passion of providing high quality compassionate care to patients has been an amazing time in my life; I married my wife, moved to New York, and started PA school. I was thrilled about my experiences in the ED as a scribe, but I promised myself to keep an open mind about all the medical specialties while in PA school; however, it quickly became clear that I had already found my passion. As time went on, I would regularly think of the excitement and fascinating medical cases seen on my emergency medicine rotation.

Volunteering at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff, California was an extremely enlightening experience. For the first time, I was given the opportunity to interact with patients on a personal level. Although as an auxiliary member I was mainly responsible for sanitizing beds, changing linens and restocking the rooms, the ability to observe the physicians as they interacted with the patients and the opportunity to speak with the patients was invaluable. I learned an immensely important aspect of being a physician, which is the importance of great bedside manner. However, I wanted to experience a greater interaction with the patients, so I enrolled in an Emergency Medical Technician course at Shasta College and became a licensed EMT.

The purpose of this journal is to reflect on my experience and skills gained during my clinical placement at Ben Taub Hospital. On my first clinical day, I was excited and nervous at the same time. My first placement was in the PREOP/PACU area. I was assigned to help a patient who had been in the PACU area going on 2 days. Normally, once the patient comes from surgery they are only in the PACU area for a short period of time before they are discharged home or given a bed in another area of the hospital. This particular patient still had not received an assignment for a bed. The physicians would make their rounds to come check on him daily. The patient was a 28-year-old Hispanic male, non-English speaking, he had a hemicolectomy. He had a NG tube, urinary Foley catheter, and a wound vac. My preceptor had just clocked in and she needed to check on the patient’s vitals and notes from the previous nurse. Once she introduced me to the patient and explained while I was there, she then asked me to check his vitals. (Vital signs indicate the body’s ability to regulate body temperature, maintain blood flow, and oxygenate body tissues. Vital signs are important indicators of a client’s overall health status (Hogan, 2014). I froze for a quick second. I have practiced taking vitals numerous of times and I knew I could do it correctly. I started with the temperature first, when I was quickly corrected on a major mistake I had made by my preceptor. I HAD FORGOT TO WASH MY HANDS and PUT

Organelles are one of the most fascinating aspects of A-Level Biology and are one of the first things that convinced me that Biochemistry is what I wanted to pursue at the challenging level of university. I became interested in the topic of life at a cellular and molecular level during early GCSE studies in year nine. After coming across a detailed diagram of the human cell, which was a contrast to what I was being taught at the time. Detail is something that has always been important to me and is where my desire to understand this concept comes from. After learning in class that mitochondria used to be a separate organism I read "Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life" looking for some answers.

My supervisor, one of the head nurses, hurriedly pulled me to the corner of the bleach white hospital room and directed me to put on gloves, an eye mask, and a face mask. I felt as if I was preparing for war as I put on all of the required gear. The sound of expensive shoes click-clacked down the hallway indicating the arrival of two doctors who rushed into the room and shouted out orders to the staff while pulling the doors to the room shut along with the curtains. Two doctors, eight nurses, an intern, and a dying patient squeezed into the already claustrophobic ten by fifteen-foot room. The machine monitoring the patient’s vital signs continued to beep incessantly as my heart rate accelerated. Throughout my internship, I had never seen a patient in critical condition until that moment. I remembered my teacher’s advice if we were ever in a situation such as this: take a few deep breaths and sit down if you feel like you’re going to pass out. In that

The case that I have chosen to reflect on was a patient that was already staying on a ward within the hospital, the patient was rushed to the emergency theatre late at night from the ward with a suspected internal bleed, the cause and exact location of the bleed was unknown, the patient presented a complex case for the theatre staff as the patient 's condition was largely unpredictable along with the amount of blood loss that the patient could lose. My role within the theatre team was on the anaesthetic side, I was supported by my mentor who I feel I have learned a vast amount of